The IPPR think tank UK EU membership debate sharpened fast when the Institute for Public Policy Research said Britain cannot deal effectively with Russian aggression and political turmoil in the US without rejoining the EU. Harry Quilter-Pinner said the government has made important progress with Europe, but the paper argues that individual deals will not be enough.
Quilter-Pinner said there is one option best for the UK’s relationship with Europe: membership of the EU. He added that this does not mean announcing another referendum tomorrow, and said work should start now to move toward that destination and build political support at home and in Europe.
Harry Quilter-Pinner on Europe
His line is more direct than a call for another round of piecemeal agreements. The paper says the UK should reinforce its power by joining other European nations rather than trying to go it alone, because Russian expansionism, the lack of reliability from the US as an international partner and increased assertiveness from Beijing have changed the stakes.
The paper also says sovereignty without the ability to act on it is not autonomy, and that hedging between larger powers is at best a strategy for survival rather than success. That is the central shift in the argument: the IPPR is not asking for a softer version of the current relationship, but for a return to EU membership as the stronger answer to instability.
Burnham and the Labour pressure
The timing matters because Andy Burnham signalled he wanted a rethink of Britain’s EU policy at Labour conference and said he would commission a review of all the options available. The IPPR’s intervention adds pressure on Keir Starmer after weeks in which a similar paper came from the Tony Blair Institute.
The paper also says the position taken by Starmer puts the UK at a disadvantage at a time of global change. That is why the call lands now: it follows Burnham’s move, builds on a wider debate inside the Labour party, and pushes the question beyond repairs to the current relationship toward a larger choice about where Britain belongs.
Polling on EU reentry
The paper backs its argument with polling that shows 52% of voters would back reentering the union, while 29% would oppose it. Support fell from 52% to 47% when voters were told that rejoining would open the floodgates to more migrants, and a message focused on freedom of movement failed to change the minds of many voters.
Shorter queues at passport control were the most attractive benefit to voters, ahead of economic benefits and the chance to live and work in the EU. For now, the practical next step in the story is political rather than procedural: Burnham wants a review of the options, and the IPPR wants work to begin on building support for a destination it says is best, without forcing another referendum tomorrow.
